QUICK LUNCHES

Hokitika Guardian, 9 March 1929, Page 6

QUICK LUNCHES

SYDNEY INNOVATION

COIN IN SLOT .MACH INKS.

SYDNEY, Feb. 7

In ii tow weeks’ time, the people of Sydney will he nhle to secure from coin-in-the-slot imuliino.s sandwiches, ice cream, orange crush, .pies, cakes and other tilings coniine within the same category. \nd the critics will say: “Hustle, hustle, Sydney is becoming more American everj - day.” Put is so happens that the mechanical buffet idea originated on the Continent, cveu though it might have been perfected in the United States. Anyway, why should America have a monopoly of hustle in eating. It is claimed that the automatic buffets that have been citiered for Sydney eclipse tin* American model in their sheer mechanism. No human attendant is necessary.

The first automatic buffet .will he at the Central Railway, 'tation »i Sydney, where thousands <■( people eat and drink every day, and must of them in a hurry. At first the machines will serve out the evcr-nopular oiange crush, hut later other imr bjnes will he added to deal with the v;" ; ed epicurian demands of the .pubii Seven machines will he landed within a week or two and they will ho operating at the end ..of the month. The. automatic buffet presents a stolid mechanical face to its patrons. It gives immediate service. It never becomes flurried. It never gives tli» wrong dish. It never argues, and it is usless to argue with it. ( The customer, being provided with the necessary small change goes straight to the machines, which will extend the full length of a wall and he devided into sections. He chooses the section which contains the aitic>he wants, clearly seen through a glass front, be it a sandwich, a pie, ice cream cake, or a drink. Placing a coin in the slot lie receives his issim 'I here are no handles to turn or buttons, to press, as in the American models. The insertion of the coin will be enough. The' buffet, is designed for those who are in a hurry and cannot afford to wait the pleasure of a waitless. It is, therefore, of special benefit at railway stations and on racecourses. There is even talk of selling beer by its aid. though it is admitted that there might be danger of abuse il it is put to this purpose. Anyhow, it will be aide to supply 1000 glasses of drink without being replinished. The tap will give the exact glassful, and it will send" it along in two sections, to prevent the overflow of froth. It is proposed to use card cups that eun )e destroyed after use. It is claimed that the whole system j s more hygienic than the ordinary restaurant methods, inasmuch as theie ;s no handling of the food except m the ordinary processes of preparation The cabinet behind the machine .s automatically refrigerated or heated to keep the food at the required temperature. Ten machines can serve oO sandwiches a minute, or as many cakes and pies.